Concern about using GMAT forum.

[you4545]

hi,
i was stuck when i heard from one of friend that using gmat forum like Esnip is unethical and my GMAT score might be banned. i used Esnip for a while and i downloaded 1000 DS, 1000 CR from there. Now i am really anxious about this free material whether downloading and using this material will ruin my GMAT score. please give me suggestions to get me out of this confusion.

[StaceyKoprince]

It is important to make sure that the material you're using is legal; some users of an old forum (that has since been shut down) had some problems because people were illegally posting "live" test questions that they'd seen recently on the official test (so, questions that hadn't otherwise been released to the public). This would only affect your GMAT score if you posted such questions or if you knowingly viewed / downloaded such questions.

I haven't heard about this site before, so I just went over there and saw that it allows users to upload stuff. In a very quick (30 second) look at the GMAT files, I found multiple instances of copyright violations, including our own books - people have illegally loaded copyrighted material that they have not been given permission to copy or share. So, yes, I definitely consider this unethical - the people who illegally loaded our material onto the site and the people who downloaded it have broken the law.

Please don't steal our stuff (or anybody else's stuff!). If nothing else, if people steal it, then we literally won't be able to continue researching and making more and better study materials!

I didn't, however, see any indication of people posting "live" GMAT questions (although I suppose that's possible - I didn't look very hard).

[you4545]

Hello Stacey Koprince,

Thanks for your reply.After reading your reply, i understood that using ESNIP is not harmful because they didn't post any live materials .Though some people upload copyrighted materials which is unethical to download. I actually use GMAT forum to get exposure to different old questions because its really helpful. Now i am free to use GMAT forum .

Best regards,
you4545

[StaceyKoprince]

You are, of course, free to decide how you want to use whatever you find. I will repeat my plea that you avoid using copyrighted material illegally. I know lots of people do it (hello, music file-sharing) because nobody is really going to sue you, but it's still unethical.

(And, for the record, no, I have never downloaded a music file illegally. I apply this ethical code to all things, not just GMAT things. :)